That Girl
by Strawberry Shake
Summary: Shikamaru wanted to tell Ino how great the most important woman in his life is. ShikaIno.


**A/N. **Here's another ShikaIno for the benefit of those whose tanks are down low. We need more ShikaIno! *hold up banner* This is inspired by Hyuchiha Ruki's fanfic, 'So Be It'. I found my inner ShikaIno fan again, after a long time of searching. So, here goes.

**Disclaimer**. I do not own Naruto.

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_That Girl_

_By. Strawberry Shake_

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_She always barges into my room and nags me to death._

"Shikamaru!" Ino opened the door so wide that it threatened to unhinge. She walked over to his sleeping figure and caught a handful of his shirt, swinging him around to wake him up. "How many times do I have to say? 10 o'clock exercises start at 10."

He glanced at his clock. 11: 30.

Shikamaru rolled over his stomach and covered his head with a pillow, much to Ino's chagrin. He sighed in relief as he felt her leave the room, only to have her back a minute later, dropping several cleaning materials on top of his head.

_Sometimes grab a broom… or ten and push me to dust a little._

He sat up and watched her as she tied a pink apron behind her back, fumbling with the laces. He helped her loop them through, earning a smile and a feather duster from Ino. Watching her go through year-old dust bunnies on top of his bookshelf, he saw no hesitation on her eyes.

"You know, Shika, you are going to die of asthma. Look at these." She slid a finger on top, accumulating dust. "You should clean your place more. I don't wanna see you coughing around Konoha like Asuma-sensei."

Instead, he saw concern.

**********

_She hogs the television for hours and makes me miss my game._

"No, you freaking Saiko! Why do you have to ruin Chiaki and Nodame's lives? They are living happily ever after! Happily!" Ino shouted at the television, throwing popcorn kernels at her least favorite character from Nodame Cantabile.

Shikamaru watched in the clock in anticipation as he waited for the game at Studio 23. He eyed the remote, assesed the distance between it and Ino and waited for the right time to attack.

"Oh, no you don't, Shikamaru Nara!" Ino said in a hushed tone, staring deadly daggers at him. If he wasn't used to these treatments, he would have peed in his pants.

"Ino, the inter-city basketball game starts at three. What am I going to do? Watch _you_ watch _Saiko_ torture herself by watching Nodame?" He stared at her incredulously, earning him a big whack in the head.

"No, of course not." Ino picked up the empty bowl of popcorn and shoved it towards him. "You are going to make another batch." She looked at him and smiled sweetly, battling her eyelashes.

"Darn, Ino. Thank the gods you're cute." He muttered under his breath as he watched the kernels pop in the kitchen.

**********

_She always persuades Chouji to diet._

"Chou, look at these." She poked his upper arm. "They're not the baby fats you used to have when we we're young. They're adult fats now. Harder to burn." She said in a factual tone.

Ignoring her usual banter, Chouji offered her a bite of his Double Grease Cheeseburger. "Eat it. A bite is worth your week's meal, I swear." Ino squirmed away from the calories and hid behind Shikamaru.

"Chouji, I'm only saying. It's easier to get girls if you're not too plump." Chouji's eyes widened. "Which I'm not saying you are!" She said in defense. Ino walked from behind Shikamaru and stood between her two teammates, both holding them by the shoulder.

She squeezed Shikamaru's upper arm. "If you're as sexy as Shikamaru, then lot's of girls will fall for you, I promise." Chouji can't help but smile at the expression on Shikamaru's face. "Don't let it get to you, boy."

The three laughed.

That night, Shikamaru found Ino, her head slumped over the table beside a bowl of what seemed to be pasta. She was chewing a part of it and from what he could see, she had finished half of the bowl.

"Ino, what are you doing with carbs?" He helped her raise her head.

"Well…" She glanced back at the stove. "I was trying to make spaghetti for Chouji. I felt bad calling him fat so I decided I'd cook something for him. Something healthy, for a change. So, I boiled the pasta and it turned out fine. I then started cooking the sauce so I heated the pan first. When I poured the mix inside, the sauce suddenly burst." Ino pointed at the red blotches on the wall.

"Must be from extensive heat. You should have put the sauce inside the heated." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Well, I didn't think of that." Ino smiled. "So, I didn't have sauce left and what's spaghetti without sauce? I just ate the pasta so it won't go to waste. Poor Chouji. He didn't get to have a healthy meal tonight." She stared at the half-finished pasta at the table and chuckled.

_But she eats leftover pastas because she didn't know how to heat the sauce because she was trying to cook a decent meal for him._

"We'll just buy him pizza, okay?"

**********

_She rants about how Sakura's always a step ahead._

"Sakura got a _whoop_ from Tsunade-sama a while ago because she was the first one to extract sap from the herbal plant." She said bitterly, scooping amounts of ice cream into her cup. "She said Sakura was _one of the best_ medical students she's ever had."

Shikamaru watched her as she took in a big scoop. "Come on. You're one of those best medical students." He tried to uplift her spirits, but she only frowned.

"I'm going to show that granny that I could be as good as her student, if not better!" Her eyes lit with determination as she looked into his, as if saying she'd do it no matter what.

"Well, if that's the case, I'm proud of you." Shikamaru raised his spoon for a toast. Ino smiled at toasted as well.

"But you know, Tsunade-sama does know what's best." She said as she watched the ice cream melting from her spoon.

"What do you mean?"

"I was watching Sakura the whole time. She was so happy with what she's doing and knowing her, she's giving her best into it." Ino licked the drop from her spoon. "I'm so proud of that Sakura. She's grown into a pretty fine kunoichi, if I do say so myself."

_But she always takes a step back just to watch how her bestfriend is progressing._

**********

_She tells me I'm barf-colored…_

"…Sakura is pink since she's oozing with so much love. Sasuke is blue, fit for his cold and icy demeanor. Naruto is orange, the liveliest color in the rainbow. Chouji is yellow. Colored like his potato chips, he's the sunniest of us all." Ino looked at the sky and watched the clouds pass by.

"Tenten is brown, demure yet spunky, especially when she accompanies me to shopping trips. Neji is also brown, modest and a gentleman, like a block." Ino giggled. "Lee is neon green since he's so full of youth and life!"

"Hinata is white, pure and serene. Shino is gray, colored like his icky bugs, but still symbolizes his authority and peace of mind. Kiba is…" She rested her head on her hands while she pondered on the thought. "Well, I think Kiba is black, which is his cool and aloof personality."

Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow. "And, what about me?"

"You're Shikamaru." He rolled his eyes. "You're green. Boring, un-moving, barf-colored…" Ino held back a laugh as she saw Shikamaru pout his lips. "That's classic, man!"

"You're also the most calming color in the color wheel. Whenever I look at something green, I'd remember you. And, well, that always makes my day." She looked at him with sincere eyes.

He can't help but smile at that.

…_and the best one in the color wheel._

"But purple is still the bomb! You cannot beat the majesty of purple."

_Well, next to purple, that is._

**********

_She makes me forget about my fear in thunder._

Thunder.

He hid his head under a pillow, wiping his sweaty hands on the pillowcase. He reminded himself not to be such a coward. He has faced much more dangers outside the walls of Konoha compared to this sound he hears during storms, inside his house where it's warm and cozy.

"Shikamaru." Ino opened the door slightly, carefully setting her umbrella by the door. She walked towards the living room where he is at and sat beside him, taking his hand. She held him tight, her warm hands compensating for the coldness he's feeling while he was alone.

"Ino, how many times do I have to tell you? I overcame my fears when we were fourteen. You didn't need to come all this way just to hold my hand." He watched her hair dripping on her shoulder. "Look. You're all wet."

"Hey. At least I'm better than a pillow." She pointed to the one he's holding. "Shikamaru, you didn't overcome your fears. That's your excuse to yourself because you think it's lame to have fears when you're a shinobi."

"And you don't?"

"No. I'm afraid of many things." She held their hands up. "I'm afraid of ghosts. I'm afraid of Sound ninjas. I was afraid of Sand ninjas. I'm scared of Gai-sensei. I'm afraid of Team Asuma getting disbanded."

"I'm afraid of losing you…" She told him, her eyes tender.

_And she makes me strong, wanting to protect her all the time._

"…and Chouji."

**********

_She would stay with me through the night, watching over me after a hard day at work._

"…I couldn't finish my report on time and Tsunade-sama reprimanded me. Well, I can't help it! I had to finish my other mission before I could report to her." He closed his eyes and let gravity pull him down to his pillow. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Ino sitting on his bedside chair, smiling.

"That's weird. Usually, you'd finish your report on a mission before you start another one." Ino gently touched Shikamaru's forehead, her fingertips sending sparks down to his backbone. "You're out of tune lately.

"And whose fault is that?"

"Not mine."

"Shut up."

They laughed as she rested her head on the bed. "My day hasn't been a bed of roses, too, you know."

"Oh, really? Don't you work in a flower shop?" He whispered, her scent intoxicating him. "That's pretty ironic."

"I had a mission to the other village. A daimyo's daughter is having her eighteenth birthday. Her ex-boyfriend threatened to kidnap her – well, elope with her since she's legal – and the daimyo wanted to make sure his daughter is safe." She closed her eyes gently and opened them again, not wanting to sleep on Shikamaru.

"And what happened? Were you able to protect the daughter?" He asked, watching her eyes through her long bangs.

"No." She yawned. "I _did_ protect her, from harm and the threat of kidnap. But when the father saw how happy she is just seeing her boyfriend stick out his hand to her, asking her to come with him…" She opened her eyes and looked at him, smiling. "…he let her go." She closed her eyes.

Shikamaru sat up and jumped off the bed, scooping her gently into his arms and propped her on top of the bed.

"The couple… they were so happy." She tried to look at him but her heavy eyelids were forbidding her to. "I… happy for them, too." She rolled to her side.

Shikamaru covered her with the blankets and tucked her in. "Well, you failed the mission then."

"Doesn't matter." She smiled. "I fulfilled another mission."

"Oh?" Shikamaru sat at the chair Ino was sitting on before. He laid his head beside hers took the hand that was slowly reaching for him. "What may that be?"

"The mission of love."

_But I'd end up to be the one watching her. Which is fine._

**********

"So? What do you think of her, Ino?" Shikamaru asked, chewing on his lower lip.

"Wow, Shikamaru. The girl you're talking about. She seems like such a nuisance." Ino giggled and watched him as he fumbled in his seat. "But you seem to be enjoying every minute you're with her. I'm glad, then, if that's the case."

"Yeah. I think I'm in love with her." Shikamaru confessed, making Ino jump out of her seat. "No, not think. I know I'm very much in love with her."

"She's troublesome, hard-headed, short-tempered. She makes the easiest tasks look like a mission of S-rank and she's twists the simplest words into something that only she could understand. She always wears me out and make me wonder why I ever out up with her. She's the biggest challenge I've ever faced."

"So, why do you?"

"Because she has the kindest heart and the most sincere thoughts. She never thinks badly of others. Well, that is if she could help it." Shikamaru chuckled at Ino's expression. "She makes me smile by just seeing her smile. I couldn't explain it fully to you, though. I just love her."

She sat closer to him, cupped his chin and made him face her. "I'm getting jealous of that girl. Just who does she think she is, ruining my Shikamaru's life?

"The most important girl in my life."

"Well, even I couldn't beat that." Ino said in mock-defeat. "Temari's not important to you, is she?" She said as she remembered her past meeting with the sand kunoichi. "She's not coming back to Konoha anymore."

"Nah. Temari's a friend."

"Good."

"So, Ino. Does she pass your standards?" He faced her, reading her expression as she contemplated on the situation.

Her eyes lit up. "I have to make her pass, if she's that important to you."

"Thanks."

"You know, I could just imagine what she'd do when you tell her." Ino laughed, making Shikamaru worry about what she might say.

"She will look you in the eyes." She cupped his face and stared into his big dark orbs. "Tell you she loves you back and plant a big kiss on your lips."

"I love you, Ino." His eyes said with much certainty. "I will love you forever."

"Guess what? I love you, too." She whispered, closing the gap between their lips. She kissed him softly, and pulled back, her cheeks pink with excitement. "And I love you, I love you, I love you." She wound her arms around his neck and hugged him tight, as if saying not to let go.

"You're too much for me to handle so tone it down a little, okay?" He laughed against her soft blond hair. "I might not take it."

"But, hey, admit it. You wouldn't have it any other way."

"No, I wouldn't."

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**A/N.** How was it, huh? Reviews. :D


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